For some, a wedding is a family affair, and by that, I mean the entire family, the young and the old included. But for others, some people are better left outside the guestlist, and that often means not inviting children.
A TV personality, content creator, and model, Olivia Jade Attwood Dack, revealed she was a firm believer of the "no children at weddings" policy when she came on Jamie Laing’s Private Parts Podcast. A snippet from their conversation went viral and caused quite a buzz among netizens, who shared varying opinions on the matter.
Some people believe that children should not be invited to weddings
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Former Love Island star Olivia Attwood split the internet into camps over whether or not kids should attend weddings
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She shared her views on a podcast, a snippet of which went viral, sparking a discussion
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Olivia: Kids at wedding thing for me is absolutely unacceptable.
Jamie: I agree.
Olivia: Unacceptable. Even if I had my own children, I wouldn't invite them. I haven't got a baby yet. So I don't know that love that they talk about. But when I see, like the bride with this little thing hanging off her dress, its little grubby hands, like, I'm like, what the [hell]? You know, Vera Wang silk dress... You put your little grubby chicken finger hands all over it. No way. And if you imagine when you're doing the vows, and you hear... aaaaa.... Jurassic Park. I'm like shut the [hell] up.
Jamie: I agree.
Olivia: Unacceptable. Even if I had my own children, I wouldn't invite them. I haven't got a baby yet. So I don't know that love that they talk about. But when I see, like the bride with this little thing hanging off her dress, its little grubby hands, like, I'm like, what the [hell]? You know, Vera Wang silk dress... You put your little grubby chicken finger hands all over it. No way. And if you imagine when you're doing the vows, and you hear... aaaaa.... Jurassic Park. I'm like shut the [hell] up.
The excerpt from the conversation was viewed more than 2.7 million times on TikTok
Having a child-free wedding can lead to certain guests declining the invitation
Image credits: Mikhail Nilov/Pexels (not the actual photo)
The star of Season 3 of the British dating game show Love Island, Attwood, expressed her opinions for a podcast hosted by a fellow TV reality personality, Jamie Laing, who, back in 2011, was part of a different British show, Made in Chelsea.
Married to a professional soccer player, Bradley Dack, Olivia shared that she doesn’t have children herself. However, she believes that having a kid clinging on the bride’s dress or making noise during the vows is not ideal, to put it mildly.
The former Love Island star is seemingly not the only one in favor of—or at least not opposed to—a child-free wedding. According to a YouGov survey, roughly four-in-ten wedding invitees would approve of the happy couple asking them not to bring their little ones to the wedding; nearly as many, though, say they would disapprove of such a request.
While the reasons for not inviting children—be it their “chicken finger hands”, the Jurassic Park-like sounds, or something else completely—differ from couple to couple, it’s important to remember that it’s their celebration, meaning that they call the shots; and that includes whether or not children should be present during their big day. Even if that might lead to some people not attending the wedding, which is something they have to take into consideration.
"If someone elects not to come because their children aren't included, just remember they made a choice that was best for their family just as you did when you decided adults-only was the way to go," Kate Turner, founder and creative director of Kate & Company, told The Knot magazine.
Many things have to be taken into consideration when the little ones are expected to attend the wedding
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The Know pointed out that there are quite a few things to take into consideration when it comes to a wedding with(out) children. First and foremost, that, as said before, it’s completely acceptable for the soon-to-be-wed to invite whoever they want, young or old, especially considering that they’re footing the bill. And it’s no secret that the bill for a wedding can be a rather impressive one.
A 2023 study found that the average wedding cost in the US was $35,000 dollars, which marked an increase of $5,000 from the year before. Bearing in mind that inviting children might expand the guest list quite significantly, the financial aspect of it all alone can be enough for people to decide to have a child-free wedding.
Then there are also the headaches of how to keep them busy, well-behaved, and well-fed, as we all know that the little ones tend to get bored rather quickly, are known to run around at the worst possible times, and often refuse all food except chicken nuggets when it’s dinnertime. While all of this can be solved with the help of pre-arranged activities, a babysitter, and a kids’ menu, these might not be the hoops that the happy couple is willing to jump through.
Whether or not the soon-to-be-wed are willing to face said hoops depends on each particular couple, as there is no one right answer to the question when it comes to inviting children to weddings. That’s why netizens in the comments seemed to be split into camps regarding the matter, too.
Some people sided with Olivia
Other netizens disagreed with her opinion
